MASS EFFECT SOLID: FIRST CONTACT
by Faasnu Briinah
Summary: In the early months of the First Contact war, the human systems alliance seeks the aid of a young Jack Harper, who has proposed the start of a black ops project that could turn the tide of their war forever... Inspired by Metal Gear Solid 4. Rated M for language, violence, gore and adult content.


**A new story I've been wanting to write, can definitely feel my creativity sparking with this one. Hope you like Mass Effect with Metal Gear's intensity! Let me know what you think c:**

MASS EFFECT SOLID

-FIRST CONTACT-

CHAPTER 1

 _In the long-dreamed future, in a field of blood and smoke, war threatens at every turn._

...

OUTER SOL SYSTEM COLONY BELT, JANUARY 6, 2157

0850 HOURS

Aboard an orbital defense station, in a secured meeting room, sat several Alliance brass. They all wore their large share of ribbons and medals, showing their status as long-time servicemen and women. None were saying anything at the moment, instead mulling over the proposal made by the lone figure standing by the meeting room's window.

One of the men, a general with a clean shaven face gently closed the classified folder that read 'ABSOLUTE ZERO'.

"Tell me again why we're shoveling millions of credits to a project that cannot even be known throughout most of the brass? What exactly are you hoping to accomplish Mr..?" This earned a few murmurs, seemed that other minds were almost beginning to think alike.

The figure turned, revealing a man with finely combed hair and pale blue eyes. He stood among them, no amount of slouching and all poise in his black suit. "Harper, General Williams.. Jack Harper. My fellow Alliance. We're on the brink of something incredible. The manipulation of mass", Harper began, "and the introduction of med-gel is just the beginning."

Jack took a moment to roll his wrists as a holo-display appeared on the meeting room's table, floating particles illuminated via laser displays. What started with the Alliance logo now formed into diagrams of human anatomy, with parts highlighted in reds and greens.

"We need to create the most effective weapons if we're to secure ourselves as the dominant species. We simply cannot allow ourselves to be caught with our pants down by the Turians again. We certainly don't need this war to continue."

A woman with her blonde hair pulled into a tight bun spoke up, her eyes examining the holo-display. "You... you want to create super soldiers? Augment our troops? Are you crazy?" All at once, the table broke into a series of commentaries, some agreeing, others expressing their disgust, and some just writing down notes on pads.

Jack held his hands out, "Please, please. To answer your question... yes. An elite branch of super soldiers. They would be the backbone of our military."

A bald officer with glasses chuckled. "What could be more elite than an Alliance marine?" A few others felt it fit to add in their own banter.

Jack simply glared at him, "A Marauder."

Silence once again filled the room, with everyone now listening intently. Jack smiled to himself. "Think of what we could accomplish if we could hit the scaled bastards hard, not only on the front lines, but also from within."

"Infiltration, Mr. Harper?" General Williams spoke, holding his hands clasped in front of him as he spoke, "This is going to be one hell of a shopping list. I hope you're prepared for the consequences."

Jack nodded, pointing out the red highlights in his presentation. As he did so, their view zoomed in, at the humans' muscle level, then skeletal. "Something my father would say.. 'No risk, no reward.' That being said, all candidates will undergo physical augmentation. Muscle enhancements, bone reinforcement, and neural implantations. With this, ladies and gentlemen... we can win." The holodisplay deactivated, allowing everyone to turn their attention back to Jack.

General Williams seemed to mull it over, and sighed. "What would you call this project, Mr. Harper?"

Jack gave a half smile, as things were about to get interesting.

"Black Ink. The first phase 'absolute zero' would be the most crucial step in laying down the foundation."

Williams snorted. "Ominous. Now who are these candidates?"

Jack nodded to his assistant, a woman in a tight black pencil skirt and dress shirt. She walked up to the edge of the table, and slid three folders across, each labeled ' _Onyx_ ', ' _Cicada_ ', and ' _Blight_ '.

Williams, curious, opened 'Onyx' first, with the first photo being of a woman with short black hair and green eyes. Under the Name section, he read "Katerina Volkova".

"I already have some in mind."

-oxo-

HUMAN COLONY WORLD SHANXI, FEBRUARY 14, 2157

HUMAN OUTPOST 'ROCKSLIDE'

0954 HOURS

"Telderin, get your ass in cover! You trying to paint a target on yourself?!" A Turian with red stripes across his plated features glared with angry golden eyes, and two blade-like appendages hanging off his jaw to emphasize his emotion.

Kalik Telderin, a fresh young Turian trooper ducked behind some rubble. He looked over at his seargant, a hard 'toothy' son of a bitch named Crassus Vaderus. The red-striped soldier ducked his head as sever rounds peppered his cover.

"N-no sir!" Kalik said hurriedly, dropping into the dirt next to his sergeant. "Shit!"

"You're telling me, son! These humans know how to hold a fort, I'll give 'em that!" Crassus huffed, popping out of cover to squeeze off a few bursts from his T-1 Hedron carbine. The weapon was medium length, good for mid range to long range, and had a good weight to it. Prone to overheating faster than most rifles, however, so shots were usually fired in bursts.

"Where the hell is that anti armor?! Tarsitus!"

"Yes Sergeant! Loading my last rocket in now!" Yelled a turian with a single yellow stripe going down his face, who also happened to be loading a hellion launcher. The rockets fired from the weapon could blast a hole in a battleship the size of a swimming pool. Reloading was a pain in the ass, and currently Palaven's research and development division were in the process of reworking the mechanism.

Talon squad, as they were called, were assigned to the capture of a human settlement called "Rock Slide". Unfortunately for them, the humans still encamped weren't exactly willing to surrender it over and call it a day.

For two hours now, it had been nothing but a game of 'peek a boo, try shooting you', with some casualties on both sides. The biggest problem to them was in the shape of a thick plated APC that would spew anti-personell rounds down their way when any of them strayed too long from cover.

Kalik looked over his shoulder: He could see several other members of their force firing potshots from their cover, some being more daring than others. "Shit! I'm hit, I'm hit! Medic!" A grey skinned turian yelled as he pressed his hand to his shoulder.

"Kalik, get over to him, I'll cover your skinny ass!" Crassus ordered, pulling a grenade off his belt.

"Sergeant!" Kalik gave a quick salute, "Ah hell, I'm coming!" he yelled, readying his kit. He ran in a crouch along the crumbled wall, as stray bullets zipped by. Luckily, the turian wasn't too far away, only a few seconds passing by before he made it.

Kalik began setting up his medigel, a gelatenous substance that had an orange coloration. "Alright, let's see, where is it?" He looked the soldier up and down quickly, as each second that passed would put the him closer to danger. Dark blue blood seeped from a hole near the Turians' collar. "There? Shoulder?"

The turian nodded hurriedly, uttering a few curses. Kalik went to work, applying cream to numb the wound, and grabbing a fist sized blob of medigel. He pressed and held into the wound, knowing the soldier would feel a cold shock, which would then subside into a warm presence. It still stung like hell at the beginning though. "Ah, fuck!" The soldier yelled, briefly flailing his arms and legs in response.

"Hey, hold still buddy! It didn't punch through, so nothing major's been hit. You good?"

"Yeah, goddamn. Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks."

"We got this." He said with a laugh, holding his fist out for a bump.

An explosion rocked Kalik, making him fall over on his side. Risking a shot between the eyes, Kalik took a peek through a hole by his shoulder. There, in the main settlements' gate sat the smoldering remains of a human APC. Tarsitus gave a loud whistle, clapping his hand on his hellion. "Whoo! That's how we get it done!"

Sergeant Crassus held a hand to his head, "Think you could have warned me first, shit-for-brains? I think I'm deaf now. Dinalus, what's our ETA on armor support?" He looked over at a female Turian, who had dark blue stripes along her silver jaw-blades. She shook her head as she worked her radio.

"About an hour, give or take sergeant. Humans have anti-air placements, one being 20 klicks south of our position, and another 16 in the north-east direction. I advised a low altitude run around approach. The mountains here should provide cover."

The red-striped Turian spit into the dirt. "Well shit, looks like we're gonna have to play by ear for a bit. They ran deeper inside since we took out their toy.. Alright, let's push up, get into cover by the gate, one at time! Cover each other, go go go!"

-oxo-

ORBIT ABOVE PLUTO, CRONOS STATION

FEB 14, 2157

1945 HOURS

Cold. Naked. The first few things she felt the second she woke. Katerina.. Katerina Volkova. That was her name. A bright light shone down on her from above, and it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust.

Naked. She gasped, sitting up in cold sweat. Gathering herself, she took in her surroundings: A clean, crisp room of gun metal greys, black, and some white. She sat on a steel table, with little more than a thin white blanket to protect her modesty.

Where was she? Katerina grasped her head, trying so hard to remember. She remembered being accepted into an internship, driving down to the building, and then... nothing...

"Finally awake I see." said a man's voice, though not in person. It sounded like it was coming from an overhead speaker.

"H-hello?" The silence was almost deafening as she waited for a reply, the only other sound being her shaky breathing.

"Yes, hello there. As you can probably guess.. you've been taken away for something very important."

Katerina shivered, wishing she had her clothes back. "Who are you?"

"Your employer."

"My internship?"

"Of sorts."

This was unreal. Where in the hell was she? "Why am I here?"

"Let me put it this way. I'm creating a very important project, and I needed people to.. volunteer. You're one of the top prospects, believe it or not."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You meet so many recommended specs for candidacy. Young, beautiful, strong, O Negative blood type. Katerina, you're going to become the perfect soldier. The start of something, previously unimaginable."

"W... what? A soldier? No! I'm- I'm not a fighter!" Katerina yelled, her eyes looking for some face to focus on as she said this. There was none to be found, so a water-filled vase holding a rose would have to do. "I'm a fucking artist! An Illustrator!"

"You have potential to become one of the strongest shields humanity needs." The man said matter-of-factly. "You'll come to understand what I mean very soon."

"Y... You can't kidnap me like this! This isn't legal! My family will be looking for me."

"That's already been taken care of." ' _Taken care of'? Oh my god..._

"Now, a couple of my staff will arrive soon with some food and new clothes for you. I apologize, but all candidates of Absolute Zero will need to dressed identically."

"Absolute what?"

"Miss Volkova. I need to know you're not going to be a liability, rather than an asset. There are ways to correct behavior, and I'm certain you know better than to put yourself through that."

Katerina crossed her arms over her breasts, sighing in defeat. There was no way out, she figured. The window to her right at the end of the room showed a large view of the star speckled void of space. "...Fine. Just tell me what to do."

A door at the front of her room slid open, and two women in white body suits stepped in. They were clad in full, black and white angular helmets obscuring their identities. Both had a sigil on their chest plates in the shape of an octopus, with the name "BLACK INK" stenciled on. On their waists sat handles that were no doubt stun batons of some kind. One of them held out a pile of clothes, walking up to Katerina in silence. The other unhooked her baton, extending it to its full length, and began to hum as an electric current ran through it.

 _There are ways to correct behavior._

"Firstly, I need you to dress up. We're in for a long night of orientation."


End file.
